Mainframe
by ShadowJ51
Summary: Part five of a series. Sequel to Road to Dawn. Flickering suns... strange patterns... hidden shadows... something is wrong with the digital world... but can the digidestined discover the truth before it's too late?
1. Moving On

Moving On

Shadow- "YAY! Part 5! I can't believe I still have readers!"

Renamon- "Just say what you need to..."

Shadow- "Oh! Right. Ahem...

"Welcome to the start of part five! To new readers, welcome! And to old readers, welcome back! If you haven't read part one, two, three, and four of my story (The Coming Sunset, Nightfall, Through the Darkness, and Road to Dawn), please go to my profile page, and read those first. Or else this part won't make any sense to you whatsoever.

To those who have read those parts: Thank you for reading this far! The story contiues... well, not exactly right where it left off... but you'll still feel right at home. Enjoy this chapter!"

Renamon- "Good. Now can I get back to sleep?"

Shadow- "Once you do your job..."

Renamon- (sighs) "Shadow does not own digimon. Now?"

Shadow- "Go ahead. Oh, and readers: please review. It helps. A lot."

* * *

**real world, three months later**

The school building sat under a fresh fall of snow. Silence filled the air as snowflakes floated slowly down. Everything was at peace. A faint bell rang.

Then all hell broke lose.

Children spilled out of the front door, trampling the snow, hurling themselves homeward. In a matter of minutes, though the tranquility was shattered, the yard was again deserted.

School was out for the winter.

**n. digital world**

The digidestined came out of the portal. Snow was lightly falling here in the digital world, as well. The other two groups of children turned, and the air was soon buzzing with conversation. They hadn't seen each other in months.

"So," Lazar said to Justin, "What're your plans with Rika?"

"What do you mean?" Justin asked.

Lazar grinned. "Come on, I heard you two talking over the phone. What's this 'gift' you're going to give her, anyways?"

Justin blushed slightly. "Apparently, not what you think it is."

Lazar laughed. "Fair enough."

"What about you and Candice?"

Lazar grinned again. "We'll be doing whatever she'll let me do."

Justin shook his head. "You're crazy, you know that?"

Lazar just laughed.

Nearby, Takato and Henry were talking about the same person.

"So, are you finally going to tell Rika?" Henry asked.

Takato blushed. "T-tell her what?"

Henry shook his head. "Takato, everyone, with the possible exception of Rika, knows that you like her!"

Takato blushed more furiously. "W-what?! I-I don..."

Henry chuckled. "Seriously Takato, you need to tell her, or else someone else will beat you to it."

Takato looked down at his shoes. "I... I know... but how do I tell her?"

Henry shrugged. "Hey, I not the one to ask on that. My advice? Get her something. Something that'll have a special meaning."

Takato's face brightened. He smiled, then walked off.

Watching the two groups, Shadowmon, Renamon, and Guilmon sat nearby.

"Aren't you glad we don't have to deal with that stuff?" Shadowmon asked.

Renamon nodded.

Guilmon tilted his head. "What's wrong with Takatomon?"

**real world, tamers**

Takato walked out of the shop, his heart pounding. _I finally got something..._ he thought. _Something to help me tell her..._

He whispered gently so gently only he heard: "Rika... I love you..."

**real world, tamers**

Takato hurried away from the shop. Henry watched him from across the street. _About time he moved on from Jeri... _he thought.

Kazu watched him leave the shop from a nearby tree. "Oh man... Chumley is so dead... " he snickered. "Rika's gonna kill him..."

Rika saw Takato leave the shop while walking past. _About time stupid goggle-head found someone to love him..._


	2. Very Cold

Very Cold

Shadow- "I know some people like writing these kinda chapters, but... for me, they only serve a greater purpose..."

Renamon- "And what purpose is that?"

Shadow- "That's for me to know... and for you to never find out!"

Renamon- "...yeah... thanks... I'm so glad you don't own digimon..."

Shadow- "And, even if you don't like this chapter, review it anyways..."

**real world, tamers, two weeks later**

Rika walked out of the card store. She opened the card pack, and rifled through the cards, hoping to find something for Justin. She knew whatever she got, it wouldn't be as good as what he had managed to find, so she had decided to get something useful.

She paused in her rifling through the cards. Most of them were junk, but this one...

She picked it out and looked at it. _Yes, this one... its rare, its powerful... it fits his personality... perfect._

She slid the card into her pocket. _I'll give it to him tomorrow... before he gives me his present..._

**real world, tamers, next day**

Takato hurried along the alley. He dodged around dumpsters and trash-cans, running as fast as he could. He tripped over a box, nearly fell flat on his face, but remained upright by flailing his arms about. He stopped, looked around, and sighed.

_Okay... that was not cool..._ he continued hurrying on. _Damn it... what am I doing?_ he wondered. _Even if its nearly Christmas, she'll still look at me like I'm worthless..._ he shook his head. _No! Henry was right. He always is. I've got to get to her house!_

He exited the alley, saw Rika's front gate, and stopped. Not because of the gate.

Because there was already someone there talking to her.

**real world, tamers**

Rika opened her front gate. She raised an eyebrow in surprise when she saw who was there.

"Justin? I thought you were coming over tomorrow?"

Justin grinned. "Well... I figured enough waiting. I've been wanting to give this to you since I first got it." He shook his head. "Heck, I wanted to tell you how... how much I love you ever since we first kissed back then..."

They both blushed, as Justin continued. "I... well, here." he took out a small gift-wrapped box.

Rika tore off the paper, and opened the box.

Her eyes widened. "Wha... how did you..."

Justin grinned. "Remember back when I talked to Huanglongmon just before you left?"

Rika shook her head. "You're really just amazing, you know that? How'd you get him to give you one of his gold scales?"

Justin laughed. "Easy. I told him the truth. I said I wanted something to remember this experience by, and something to remind us of what happened."

Rika shook her head. "Simply amazing..." she whispered as she moved her face closer to his.

**real world, tamers**

Takato felt his heart sink. Justin and Rika had just kissed. He looked down at his present, a locket he had planned to give her. _A stupid locket..._ he corrected. He hadn't even had the courage to put his own photo in there, so he'd pasted in a picture from a Renamon card.

He shook his head, and tossed the locket away. He turned around, ignoring them both as Rika took something out of her pocket to give to Justin, and started the long, cold, and above all lonely walk back home.

**real world**

Kari sat alone in her house, watching the TV. Tai had left with Sora, of all people. Just a few weeks ago, she'd been going out with Matt. Kari shook her head. _She certainly knows how to play off both of them..._

Her parents were off at some dinner, and she had nothing to do, and no one to talk to.

A knock came at the front door. She smiled. _Scratch that... looks like I might have someone to talk to after all..._

She opened the door and saw TK standing there, grinning in the knee deep snow. He had both of his hands behind his back.

Kari leaned against the doorframe. "...Yes?" she asked.

TK blushed. He looked around for a moment, then took the present from behind his back. "H-here you go!"

She took the present. "M-merry Christmas!" he added.

She took the gift, and smiled. "Thanks, TK." She looked around, and blushed. "I-I'm sorry I don't have anything to give you yet. My parents won't let me out buy myself, and both them and Tai are almost always gone..."

TK shrugged. "Its okay. I know how protective your parents are." He started to learn towards her, thought better of it, and turned to go. "See you later!"

She waved to him, but didn't say anything, her voice stuck in her throat. _What the heck?_ She wondered. _What was I talking about? We got all the gifts weeks ago! Why didn't I invite him in?_

_Ah,_ a voice in the back of her head said, _you're afraid._

_Afraid?_ Kari thought. _Of TK?_

_Of losing a chance someone else, perhaps?_

"W-what? That's not true..." she whispered. Even to her, the words sounded false.

She shook her head, turned around, went back inside, and shut the door. It was cold outside.

_Very cold..._


	3. Not Cool

Not Cool

Shadow- "Hello again. No reviews. Again."

Renamon- "Then why-"

Shadow- "Look, I'm not in the mood for clever banter right now... just say your bit..."

Renamon- "Fine. Shadow doesn't own digimon. Happy?"

Shadow- "Immensely, I'm sure. Readers... please review. I know you're out there. I can hear you caring!"

* * *

**real world, next day**

Kari slipped into her room, shut the door, and sighed. _What the heck is wrong with me?_ she wondered. _I can't even relax at Christmas?_

A knock came at her door. Tai's voice, slightly muffled by the wood, said "C'mon, Kari!"

Kari sighed again, but she stayed where she was.

After a pause on the other side of the door, she heard Tai's voice again, quieter this time. "Look, mom just got out some special present for you, something about keeping it a secret. She said not to tell you, but if you don't come out of there right now..."

Kari shook her head. _Oh well,_ she thought. "Be right there!" she shouted. _I guess there'll be enough time to get ready for the party after presents..._

**n. digital world**

By the time Kari and Tai yelled "Digiport open!" and were sucked into the computer, the party for all the digidestineds was already underway. Food from both the real world and the digital world was set up on several tables, but no one was paying it much attention. (A/N: Except for the digimon, but that kinda goes without saying...)

All of the digidestineds were there, even the few who really didn't like these sort of things. Genai was there, as well as the two digimon who had come with Jen, and some old friends of the digidestineds. The god digimon had been asked to come, but had declined. (A/N: Some more violently than others...)

Matt was trying to win back Sora, Tai was trying to beat Matt up, Sora was laughing at the two of them, Mimi was flirting with everybody near her, Izzy was off talking with Genai, and Botta was trying to get Jen's attention.

Lazar walked up to Justin. "Hey Justin! How'd yesterday with Rika go?"

Justin smiled. "Pretty well, actually."

"What all did you give her, anyways?"

"You remember Huanglongmon? How he had a lot of gold scales as armor?"

Lazar raised his eyebrows. "How the hell did you get a piece of his armor?"

Justin shrugged. "I asked. Apparently, it grows back soon enough, so its really not that big a deal."

Lazar shook his head. "You... are crazy..."

"What did you give Candice?"

Lazar sighed. "Nothing, yet. Just a badly attempted kiss and someone to laugh at."

Justin winced. "Ouch. Not cool."

Lazar shook his head. "Yeah, I know..."

"No, not that. Tai just broke one of the punch bowls over Matt's head."

Lazar looked over his shoulder, and also winced. "Yeek. That looks bad..."

Justin chuckled. "Yeah. Matt's going to have a hard time gelling his hair with shards of glass in it."

Lazar laughed.

**n. digital world**

"Now?"

"No, not yet."

"... now?"

"No."

"...now?"

"No!"

"...now?"

"Fine! Just shut up!"

**n. digital world**

While Matt tried to pick pieces of glass out of his hair, and Sora yelled something about breaking up with Tai, the sky had darkened slightly.

All of a sudden, a streak of fire shot across the sky, and impacted nearby. The shock wave put the argument out of everyone's mind, and most took out their digivices.

Two small figures flew up from an nearby cliff face. The digimon on the ground got ready to digivolve. Then, they heard something from midair.

"You idiot! You missed them!"

"Then why didn't you shoot them?!"

"Because we weren't supposed to yet!"

"Shut up!"

"You shut up!"

Both digimon started punching each other, and they both crashed to the ground in the middle of the group of digidestineds. Everyone just stared for a minute as they punched and kicked each other, before they finally realized where they were.

The two digimon disentangled themselves, and one spoke.

"We're the assassin digimon brothers, and we're here to kill every single one of you!"


	4. Just a Feeling

Just a Feeling

Shadow- "New chapter. STILL no reviews... you know what? If you're not going to take the time to write a review, I'm not going to take the time to write an intro. SO THERE!"

Renamon- "Um... they might actually prefer that..."

Shadow- "Oh, just do your bit..."

Renamon- "Fine. Shadow does not own digimon."

Shadow- "And Shadow is not getting reviews, either. DAMN IT JUST REVIEW! It takes, what, two extra seconds to review, and then you can go about your merry buisness! It means very little to you, and a lot to me, so just please, take the time and review!"

* * *

**n. digital world**

Everyone stood silently staring at the two digimon who had just dropped into their midst. The two digimon shifted for a moment, then the other yelled out "What? No comeback?"

Matt, who had just finished picking the pieces of the punch bowl out of his head, said "No. Too easy."

The digimon snorted. "Oh yeah? Say one!"

Matt shrugged. "Fair enough. You're the two stooges."

Sora stifled a laugh. The two digimon blinked. "The two what?"

Matt sighed. "Look, never mind. Who are you, anyways?"

One of the digimon blinked. "Oh yeah..."

The two digimon jumped into what were supposed to be heroic poses, but made them look ridiculous.

"I'm Shenamon!" the first one shouted.

"And I'm Ratoimon!" shouted the second one.

"And together, we're the Assassin Brothers!" they shouted in unison.

The digidestined blinked. Someone asked the obvious question. "The who?"

Both digimon half-collapsed from annoyance. "You've never heard of us?!"

Everyone shook their heads. Both digimon sighed.

"Geez, this is depressing..." said Shenamon.

"You're telling me? We go to all the trouble of trying to make names of ourselves, we announce who we are, and we still get nothing!"

Shenamon sighed. "Agreed, brother. What's the point of slaughtering hundreds of digimon if you don't become famous for it?"

Ratoimon nodded. "Let's go."

The two digimon flew off. Matt blinked. "What the hell?" he asked.

**unknown world**

A digimon outlined by brilliant view screens watched as the two digimon flew away from the digidestined, discussing whether or not to stay assassins, or to settle down somewhere and start a restaurant. The digimon sighed, and snapped off the screens.

In the pitch darkness, only its emerald eyes remained visible, glowing as if lit from within. "Why the hell do I even waste time with these idiots..." it muttered.

**n. digital world**

Sora was yelling at Tai again for hitting Matt, Matt had passed out and was on the ground, Mimi was still trying to flirt with those who hadn't left, Botta had offered to accompany Jen home, which she had accepted, and Izzy was typing on his computer, trying to find out more information on the two digimon. Nearly everyone else had left.

In short, the party was ruined.

Kari sat off by herself, watching everything. She sighed. _Damn it... what the heck is wrong with me?_

TK saw her sitting by herself. He walked over, and sat next to her. He tilted his head to the side. "What's wrong?"

Kari started, and looked over at TK. "Huh? Oh, sorry. Nothing's wrong..."

TK stared at her for a moment, then said. "Kari, please don't lie... I've known you long enough to tell when something's wrong."

Kari hesitated for a moment, then sighed. "Oh, I don't know. Just a feeling. Like, yesterday, when you came over, I felt like closing the door a locking you out..." she quickly glanced over at TK, who didn't say anything. Kari babbled on. "I... tonight, when those digimon came... they're not evil... I've always been able to sense before if something was evil, and it always was... but they weren't..."

TK nodded. "I know. They were just told what to do. They weren't evil. Whatever was behind them was."

Kari shook her head, surprising TK. "No! That's just it... there was nothing... no evil... but no good, either... I don't know, TK... it... doesn't make any sense..."

Kari got up and walked off. As TK watched her walk towards the portal, he realized she looked half-dazed. She held up her digivice, and left. TK shook his head. "Not evil?" he muttered. "How could something that wants us dead not be evil?"


	5. Mixed Messages

Mixed Messages

Shadow- "Hello, again! Busy weekend... not that you'd be interested. And yay! I got reviews! (Thanks to Nameless Dragon, Dag 417, and digi-writer1392!)

Renamon- "Another wierd chapter... why can't you ever write something normal?"

Shadow- "Normal's boring. Besides... my ideas aren't 'normal'."

Renamon- "I noticed... Shadow does not own digimon..."

Shadow- "And please remember to R&R! (Even if you have already! I enjoy repeats!)"

* * *

**real world**

TK couldn't sleep.

He stared up at the ceiling, his blond hair flopped back on his pillow, thinking.

_How is it possible for something to want to kill us, and not be evil? We're the good guys, right? We always fight evil, no matter how impossible it may seem..._

TK flipped over onto his stomach. He punched his pillow a few times, then sighed. He stopped moving for a moment. The house was silent except for the ticking of the clock. He thought he heard a whispy sort of sound, but it seemed so quiet, and he dismissed it as his imagination. He looked over at the clock. It read 12:47 AM. He sighed again, then fell face down on top of his pillow.

He shook his head. _It's not possible... maybe Kari was wrong... something's wrong with her, at least..._

**real world, tamers**

Rika couldn't sleep.

She lay on her side on her futon, listening to the muffled sounds of the city. She knew if she listened hard enough, she would her Renamon's faint breathing, as her partner watched over her. She rolled over to her other side, uncomfortable.

_Who the heck were those digimon? And why did they attack us? Who sent them?_

Rika rolled over again, still finding no comfort in her mattress.

_And why the hell are there never any easy answers?_

**real world, frontier**

Takuya slept hard. He was very tired.

**real world**

As the early morning sun filtered through the window, Izzy stumbled sleepily out of his bathroom, his hair still wet from his shower. He shook his head to clear it, and glanced over at his computer.

An icon was blinking insistently on the screen. He sighed, and stumbled over. He clicked on the icon, and clicked 'Okay' when it asked to confirm. He tiredly scanned the message, then his eyes shot wide open. He felt a pulse of adrenaline rush into his bloodstream, and he got up, knocking over his chair, and hurried off to the phone, leaving the message still visible on the screen.

_Come to the digital world immediately. It is an emergency. Bring some muffins._

_–Genai_

**n. digital world**

Several hours later, after rounding up the other digidestined, (Yolee grabbed some muffins; you could never be too sure with Genai) the entire group came through one of the TV portals. Nearby, already waiting, were the other two groups.

Tai smiled when he saw the others waiting. "You get the message from Genai, as well?" he called out.

"Genai?" Henry said. "We were called by Azulongmon."

Takuya blinked. "I have no idea what you're talking about, we got a message from Ophanimon."

Before anyone could ponder this any further, fire erupted from the ground, quickly encircling them. He cackling voice echoed from the flames.

"You digidestined brats again? I may at last get the chance of crushing you each personally!"

A giant dark dragon stepped from the flames, and several people shouted out "Savadramon!", with several adding expletives to the name. The dark dragon lord just laughed.

"You fools! I shall destroy all of you! But first, let's go somewhere more appropriate for the downfall of the digidestined!"

The hazy form of the dragon backed through a portal as it appeared behind it, disappearing from sight. After a slight pause, the digidestined charged after him, leaving the whipping flames behind, which, like the portal, quickly disappeared, leaving behind no trace.


	6. Spheres of Power

Spheres of Power

Shadow- "Another new chapter. Yay! I'm so happy..."

Renamon- "Sure... Shadow does not own digimon."

Shadow- "Nope! But regardless, please R&R!"

* * *

**unknown world**

The digidestined leaped out of the portal, digivices in hand, ready to digivolve and defeat Savadramon. There was only one problem: the dark dragon was nowhere to be seen. The digidestined looked around, confused, and saw that they were on a snow covered ledge, with a giant wall off to their left.

Henry sighed. "Wait a minute... we've been here..."

Izzy wrinkled his brow. "That's odd. Why would it bring us here?"

Tai shrugged. "I dunno, but I know who might."

Izzy nodded, and walked over to the wall where the panel had been last time. Henry shook his head, and muttered "More importantly, how did it find the digital world's mainframe, and how did it create a portal here?"

After a few moments, flickering lights apeared on the wall, forming lines that outlined the gigantic door. The digidestined looked at each other, then walked inside the digital world's mainframe. The doors ground shut behind them, leaving only footprints in the snow to mark their passing.

**mainframe**

The digidestined walked out of the hallway, and found themselves in the central chamber, containing the forest, mountains, oceans, and the sacred spire, which seemed to hang suspended from the ceiling, as the bottom half had collapsed inward, and lay in a pile of rubble in the bottom of the basin.

The digidestined stared in awe for a moment, before a slight growl off to their left startled them. They turned, and saw Huanglongmon there, staring at them. The dragon sighed.

"Greetings again, children. I'm not exactly sure how you got here, but it's just as well that you did. I would have called you here soon enough anyways."

Izzy blinked. "Why?"

As an answer, the dragon said. "Follow me," spread his wings, and flew off towards the center of the chasm, where the remains of the spire hung. The digidestined looked at each other, shrugged, and took out their digivices.

**mainframe, remains of the sacred spire**

Riding on the backs of their ultimate digimon, the digidestined followed Huanglongmon to the bottom part of the hanging spire. The dragon flew upwards through the middle of the spire, his wings clipping the stairs on the sides. The digidestined followed, and soon found themselves in the room where Takato, Izzy, Botta, and Trish had been brought back to life. Rika looked off to her left at the hole Huanglongmon had made to escape when the bottom half of the tower had collapsed. She briefly wondered about the safety of the structure, before the dragon started to speak again, drawing everyone's attention to him, and the three balls of energy next to him.

"These," said Huanglongmon as he gestured at the energy spheres, "are what I have been creating since I saw the damage the dark digimon had caused to the digital world. I have been diverting power from the main processors, and have slowly been collecting it in these spheres."

"What exactly do they do?" Trish asked skeptically.

"Right now, nothing." the dragon answered. "But once the power collection is complete, they will contain enough energy to collapse the fabric of space time upon itself."

Izzy raised his eybrows, Justin whistled appreciatively, and Henry nodded. When Huanglongmon saw that no one else understood him, he clarified. "Basically, it destroys whatever universe it is in."

The effect was immediate. There were gasps, more whistling, and Tai shouted out "All right! When are they ready?"

Huanglongmon shifted slightly. "I'm... not entirely sure... It should be within the next few days, but..."

Justin looked like he was thinking for a moment, then said "Didn't we use wishes to bring back Takato and the others?"

The dragon paused, then nodded slowly. "Yes... but the energy required to bring back a human is, if you don't mind me saying, inconsequential. The energy needed for these weapons is incomparatively larger."

"Well, if the weapons are almost done, then we might be able to finish the job." said Rika.

Huanglongmon hesitated for a moment. "But..."

Takuya sighed. "Look, what's the worst that could happen?"

Huanglongmon nodded. "The worst would be that there is not enough energy, in which case it would speed up the process of..." The dragon looked over at the spheres. "I suppose we can try it."

The digidstined waited for a minute while the dragon moved the spheres to the correct spot on the platform, then nodded. "Okay. It's ready. Start wishing."

The digidestined closed their eyes, and started wishing. Everything was quiet for a few moments. Then, the platform began to glow faintly, and the balls of energy began to condense. Though all three had been pure white, as the balls grew more compact, one turned scarlet, one turned emerald, and one turned amethyst. The three balls warped for a few moments under the constant light of the platform, until all three had become perfect spheres, and floated slowly to the floor.

Some of the digidestined cheered, Tai yelled out "Let's go kick some ass!" and Huanglongmon smiled, then frowned.

The light from the platform suddenly charged. The light began to flicker, the platform began to shake, knocking the three balls off, and a shadowy figure appeared on the platform. Though it looked different somehow, its outline was nearly identical to the digimon that had fought against them on the beach, and had first opened a portal to the mainframe...


	7. The Tower and the Dragon

The Tower and the Dragon

Shadow- "Hello again, faithful readers... and you know... something's been puzzling me..."

Renamon- "What?"

Shadow- "The first two chapter have a lot of hits... which is normal... and then all the other have a lot less... but then, for a few chapters, the hit counter is really low, then it starts going back up..."

Renamon- "So?"

Shadow- "So... does that mean that everyone who's reading chapter six hasn't read chapter five?"

Renamon- "...you're right... that is wierd... readers, if you know what's going on, please tell us... 'cause now I'm confused, too..."

Shadow- "Yeah... anyways, this chapter (like last one) is gonna be a cliffie. (sorry!)"

Renamon- "Don't all of your chapters end in cliffhangers? ...wait... where'd the term 'cliffhanger' come from, anyways?"

Shadow- "Heck if I know..."

Renamon- "Okay... right... anyways... Shadow does not own digimon."

Shadow- "Don't forget to R&R!"

* * *

**mainframe, sacred sanctuary**

The digidestined and Huanglongmon stared in shock as the digimon fazed into being, dropped a few inches to the ground, and looked around. The digimon chuckled. Huanglongmon started, then growled.

"I don't know who you are or how you got in here, but you had better start explaining." When the digimon did not react, Huanglongmon growled ever deeper. "NOW."

The digimon laughed. "I have no need to explain myself to the likes of you."

Huanglongmon growled again. "Oh, really. And why is that?"

The digimon grinned. "Why should the cow need to know the butcher's name? It's still going to end up as dog meat."

The digimon held out its right arm, which morphed from a clawed fist to a cannon barrel. "Still," it continued, "If you must know, my name is Sacrosamon. And I am here to kill every single last one of you fools."

Sacrosamon pointed his arm cannon at Huanglongmon, yelled "Supernova Cannon!", and shot a beam of intense white light at Huanglongmon. The attack sizzled electrically when it struck Huanglongmon's armor, then warped, twisted, and finally fizzled out, leaving a patch of scorched golden armor.

The dragon chuckled. "Was that the best attack you have? Not very impressive. Now, let me show you true power! Sacred Blaster!"

Sacrosamon jumped to his right, narrowly dodging the attack, which smashed into the platform, destroying it, and leaving another gigantic hole in the wall. Sacrosamon continued moving, jumping out through the hole Huanglongmon had made earlier, ignited boosters on his feet, and flew off. Huanglongmon spread his wings and followed closely behind, firing off occasional attacks.

The digidestined stood around for a few moments, wondering what to do, before the walls of the spire around them gave way with a loud crack, releasing what was left of the tower, and the children, digimon, and structure hurtled towards the ground. The digimon, still in their ultimate forms, picked up the digidestined and carried them away to safety.

Rika looked back over her shoulder as the top half of the spire smashed into the remains of the bottom half. The two sections vaporized with a thunderous crack, leaving only a pile of shimmering silver rubble. Rika felt a pang of loss, though she did not know why, and turned back to where Huanglongmon was trying to hit Sacrosamon.

Huanglongmon fired off attack after attack, but Sacrosamon just doged and weaved around them as he circled Huanglongmon. The dragon shouted out of frustration "Damn it! Stand and fight, you coward!"

Sacrosamon's expression changed, and he smiled. "As you wish..." he said, and dove straight at Huanglongmon. Huanglongmon was taken by surprise, and didn't manage to attack Sacrsamon as he flashed under the dragon.

Huanglongmon angrily turned, and saw Sacrosamon floating there, grinning. "Fine, Huanglongmon." Sacrsamon shouted. "Attack me. I won't move." The dragon hesitated for a moment, and Sacrosamon yelled. "What are you waiting for, you coward?!"

Huanglongmon growled, and yelled "Sacred Blaster!" and shot a blast of white hot light at Sacrosamon. The attack hit dead on, exploding into a billowing cloud of grey smoke. Huanglongmon snorted in triumph. "And that, my little friend, is why you do not attack the ruler of the digital world."

The smoke swirled suddenly, and Sacrosamon shot out of it, directly at Huanglongmon. He shouted "Sacro Sword!" as a blade sprang from his left arm. He plunged the sword directly into the joint of Huanglongmon's left arm.

A sickening crunch echoed through the room, as Huanglongmon tipped to his right, and plunged rapidly to the ground below. After a few seconds, there was a dull thud, then silence.

Sacrosamon turned to the digidestined with a smile on his face. "Now... which of you should I kill first..."

The digidestined were paralyzed with fear, as Sacrosamon paused for a second, said "Yes... you'll do..." and pointed his cannon directly at Kari.


	8. Admirable

Admirable

Shadow- "Welcome to the last chapter of this part... and yes, the next part will be out soon (in a couple of days kinda soon) so be on the look out for that."

Renamon- "How many more characters are you going to kill off, anyways?"

Shadow- "If I told you, you wouldn't believe me..."

Renamon- "So... does not mean you're not going to kill of any more, or are you going to kill all of them?"

Shadow- (laughs) "Wouldn't you like to know..."

Renamon- (growls) "Fine, be that way... Shadow does not own digimon..."

Shadow- "And since this is the last chapter of this part, if you haven't reviewed yet, please do so! If you have reviewed, do so again!"

* * *

**mainframe**

Sacrosamon pointed his cannon directly at Kari. Her eyes widened. Tai growled. "If you hurt one hair on my sister's head..."

Sacrosamon laughed. "Oh, so you have family members present, do you? Good. That will make it even more instructive."

"Sacrosanct Bl-" Sacrosamon paused, his cannon ready to fire, with energy crackling around it. The others turned to see where he was looking.

They saw Justin, Zoe, and Kouji holding the three spheres of energy that Huanglongmon had made. Sacrosamon growled, and powered down his cannon. He looked annoyed for a moment, but then changed his posture, and shrugged. "Fair enough. I guess you are willing to give your lives to protect others. Admirable..."

Sacrosamon's eyes hardened. "Perhaps you are worthy, after all." A blinding flash of light suddenly radiated from Sacrosamon. When everyone had cleared their eyes, Sacrosamon was gone, as was Justin, Zoe, and Kouji. The spheres lay where they had been sitting.

The digidestined looked around, then looked at each other, and shrugged. "So... what should we do now?" asked Matt.

"I... I think we should go to Huanglongmon." Kari said, still shaken. "If he's still alive, we can get some advice, and... if not..."

Tai nodded. "Yeah. Metalgreymon?"

His digimon nodded, and flew downwards to where Huanglongmon had crashed. The other digimon followed.

When they landed, they saw that Huanglongmon was still intact, although his data was fazing and was filled with static in parts. He looked up and the digidestined, and breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of them and the spheres safe.

"Are... are you okay?" Kari asked.

The dragon shook its head. "No... I fear... my time left is short..."

"How'd he get through your armor?" Tim asked. "I mean, after that shot of his just..."

Huanglongmon smiled. "I gave away... a piece of my armor...as a request from a friend..."

Rika took a sharp breath, and felt for the cord around her neck that had on it the gift that Justin had given her.

The dragon shook his head. "Don't think... that it was your fault... young one... He was too strong... anyways..."

"Well... what should we do now?" Tai asked.

Huanglongmon looked at him. "You must use the spheres... to destroy the lands of darkness..."

"But how?" Izzy asked. "We don't have a way to open a portal to there."

Huanglongmon nodded. "I know... I shall... modify your digivices... to be able to create a portal... wherever you need it to be..." the dragon chuckled. "No more trapsing around to find TV's..."

"Really?" asked Izzy. "That's great!"

Huanglongmon smiled sadly. "Yes... but the digi-gnomes do not have the ability to do this... so I shall use my remaining strength... to do so..."

Izzy looked alarmed. "Wait, hold on a sec-"

But the dragon just closed his eyes for the final time, and his data digitized. The faintly gold dust floated to their digivices, and was absorbed. The screens flashed a confirmation message, and turned off.

Kari and several others sniffed back tears.

**mainframe**

After erecting a small memorial for the dragon, the digidestined flew up to the entrance hallway, to take one last look at the room. The ocean glittered silently, the forest shuddered in unfelt winds, and the broken spire lay in the middle of it all, reflecting the clouds near the ceiling above.

"So..." Takato finally said. "What next?"

"I think that's obvious." Tai said. "Go home, pack up, and get ready. We'll all meet at my house tomorrow, and from there we'll go and destroy every last world of evil."

The others nodded in agreement. Everyone held out their digivices, and each was sucked into their own portal, leaving behind only the digi-gnomes floating like fireflies in the distance, a faint golden dust, and echoes of the coming battle.


End file.
